This is Exploring College Ministry

After ministering to college students for 8 years, I've spent the last 11 years trying to help push our whole field forward. This has all meant, among other things, a yearlong road trip, an e-book (Reaching the Campus Tribes), exploring 350+ campuses, consulting, writing, speaking, and more. I love any opportunity to serve college ministers or others who want to reach college students better.

politics on the road

You might be wonderin’ how much I’ve encountered in the world of Politics this year, both in my general travels around the country and on college campuses, which are supposedly the hotbeds of political activity this year.

Tonight, a quick note on the general travels portion. I’ll get to college students soon, though.

I’ve actually been a little disappointed with NOT seeing more political stuff. For a while there as I worked my way through the U.S., in every stop it felt like I had “just missed” the recent political activity. I can get really interested in Politics – honestly, more for the sociology involved than in worrying about who wins (but that obviously important, too).

But two spots stick out to me as particularly “Political” places during my trip: Los Angeles AND here, the Triangle of North Carolina!

I got to be in L.A. in the lead-up to the California Presidential Primary, but the state was also voting on some big Native American propositions, as well as a proposition that made everybody mad because the present legislators would get to stay in office a lot longer. Most of the props won, but they’re throwing the bums out. At least that’s the way Talk Radio would spin the Prop 93 defeat. I listened to a lot of that out there.

The California Primary was clearly a big deal, because Hillary won that one. Sometimes she doesn’t. And the Republicans were still fightin’ it out back then, too, and I met a few Ron Paul fans.

Last, in the semi-political realm… The TV Writers’ Strike ended while I was in town! Now, THAT was an amazing thing to experience. Because, for the rest of us, the Writers’ Strike was about us not getting to see “Lost” for a while. But if you lived in Los Angeles, half your church community might be outta work. It was great to have clapping and cheers in Sunday services the weekend after the strike ended.

Fast forward…

Now, after Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary (on April 22), we’re next on the docket here in the great state of North Carolina. They have a one-stop register-and-vote law nowadays for new registrants. So people can just go vote, as long as they’re voting early. As you can imagine, this program is ideal for college students, who both like things easy and often haven’t registered previously. (More on that in the future post.)

The other big deal this week is the hubbub over the anti-Obama, anti-democrats commercial the NC Republicans are planning to show. They’re ostensibly showing it to help the Republican gubernatorial candidate, but it obviously has greater implications.

With that fervor, the national media types have been interviewing the head GOP lady like crazy! So it’s kinda cool to have everybody zeroing in on this state, since I happen to be in it, exploring in and around the capital, Raleigh. (Did you remember that’s the capital? I had to make sure.)